Coming down heavily on the Central government and Patanjali Ayurved, the Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notices to Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balakrishnan and asked why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them for violating its orders.

The SC said that the government was sitting with its eyes closed and asked it to take action against Patanjali. The company has been restrained from advertising and marketing the products meant to cure ailments-disorders till further orders.

The SC asked the Central government regarding the measures it took with respect to the advertisments issued by Patanjali. “The entire country is taken for a ride. You wait for two years when the Acts says this (advertisements) is prohibited,” Justice Amanullah told Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj.

The top court was hearing Indian Medical Association’s plea seeking action against Baba Ramdev and Patanjali Ayurved for defaming evidence-based medicine.

The IMA, which is the largest body of evidence-based medicine doctors, has over 3.5 lakh members. It had filed a petition alleging that Patanjali’s advertisements made false claims about curing certain diseases. The IMA also alleged a smear campaign by Ramdev against vaccination drive and modern medicines.